I Will Do It For You
by TogetherWeCanFly
Summary: AU. Katniss was always very lonely, and her parents never had much time for her. And so, her mind created the perfect sister, Primrose. When her mother brings her to Panem's Home for the Mentally Ill, Katniss is separated from Prim, and she will do anything to find a way out and back to her sister. Even if that means she must recruit another patient to help her.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, lovely. Yes, you. ;D Well, by some miracle, I realized that many of the stories that were deleted from my page were actually saved in various files on my computer! They are scattered, but most of the chapters were saved! So, here is my personal favorite. :) I will be searching for the next chapter. In the mean time, if you get bored... I mean, you can leave a review or something. You know, if you want to. ;) Read and Enjoy!**

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_Chapter One - Smiles_

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Katniss smiled. She loved her little sister so much. Everything about her just made Katniss so happy. She especially loved it when her baby sister laughed or flashed a smile. Katniss would count the gaps from the baby teeth that her sister had lost. She loved every little thing about her little sister. Especially her name, because Katniss had named her herself.

Primrose. That's we she named her, after the beautiful flower. But she decided to call her Prim for short. She thought it was a beautiful name for a beautiful baby, but when she told her parents her idea, they looked at each other, confused, and asked Katniss what she was talking about. But eventually, she convinced them to name the baby Primrose. That was about seven years ago, when Prim was first born. When Katniss was four.

Katniss was so lonely at that time. Her parents were always too busy to pay much attention to her. That's why she was so excited when Primrose was born. Well, she _thinks_ Primrose was born. Honestly, Katniss really has no idea how Prim came to be. One day, she was just there. But Katniss didn't question it. She was far too excited to wonder how it had happened.

"Do you know what you want for your birthday?" Katniss asked, she braided Prim's hair.

"I don't know." Prim shrugged. "I don't really want anything. Having you as a sister is all that matters."

Prim smiled her heart-warming smile, and Katniss smiled back. Her sister, even at the age of six years old, was so mature and sweet and all, entirely hers.

"Maybe Mom and I could make you something special for dinner," she suggested. "What would you want?"

"What's your favorite dinner?" Prim asked.

"Lamb stew, I think."

"That's my favorite, too," she said automatically, smiling sweetly.

"Great!" Katniss said, as she finished Prim's hair. "I'll go ask Mom right now, if we can do it."

Katniss slid off of her bed and ran toward the door, closely followed by Prim. They ran together all the way down the stairs, but they stopped at the kitchen doorway. Katniss looked in and saw her parents sitting at the kitchen table, their backs facing her. They were talking quietly, they looked upset. Mrs. Everdeen even came close to tears, but her husband stopped her quickly and whispered something to her.

"Go in," Prim whispered. "Just go in. We can cheer them up."

Katniss nodded and followed Prim's instructions. She walked into the kitchen, and her parents stood up and turned around quickly. Katniss smiled and playfully pulled the paper out of her father's hand. He went to grab it back, but his wife stopped him. Katniss looked down at the paper carefully. It appeared to be some kind of brochure. At the top, it read "Panem's Home For The Mentally Ill". The rest was too long, and Katniss didn't care to read it all, so she looked up at her parents.

"What's this?" she asked, pointing at the paper.

Her parents exchanged a worried glance, but they said nothing for a few seconds. Finally, her father faked a smile and rushed over to the kitchen counter. He picked up a candy and held it up.

"Want a lollipop, Katniss?" he asked.

"Okay." Katniss shrugged, as her father handed it to her. She looked over at Prim, who was now staring at the ground sadly. "Wait, doesn't Prim get one?"

The smile disappeared from her father's face, and her mother looked as if she was about to cry again. She sighed and took a step toward him.

"Kaiser, don't-"

"It's all right," he cut her off. "If _Prim_ wants one, _Prim_ can have one."

He cleared her throat and slowly reached for another lollipop. Just as slowly, he handed it to Katniss, who smiled gratefully. She then turned to Prim, who was also smiling slightly.

"Here, Prim!" Katniss said, holding out the lollipop for her. "Here, take it."

Prim reached out for the lollipop. But just as Katniss let go of it, it fell to the ground. Prim frowned and bent down to pick it up, but she still could not manage to hold onto it. She sighed and looked up, obviously embarrassed.

"I'm too klutzy." She blushed. "Could you carry it for me, Katniss?"

"Sure." Katniss picked up the lollipop and turned to her mother, who still had tears in her eyes. "Maybe, she needs glasses!"

Her parents said nothing in response, so Katniss shrugged and told Prim to follow her, as she opened the back door and ran into the yard. Together, they ran for their father's hammock, which was tied to the two trees at the far end of their yard. Katniss climbed onto it first, then reached down to pull Prim up next to her. They both lied down and stared up at the sky.

"Mommy still doesn't like me," Prim said quietly.

Katniss sighed. She always tried to comfort Prim and tell her that their mother _did _love her, but it wasn't true. Every time her mother hugged her before bed, she refused to hug Prim. If Katniss even asked her to watch Prim, her mother would give her a funny look, shake her head, and walk away. Her mother would never even feed Prim. So, Katniss had to take care of Prim since the day she came to be. She hugged her and kissed her and did her hair and fed her. She tried to be everything a mother should be, but she knew that deep down, Prim wanted their real mother's love as well.

"That's not true, Prim," Katniss lied.

"Yes, it is. She loves you more than she'll ever love me."

"I'm not even sure that Mom loves _me_."

"She does, Katniss. She loves you, she loves you so much."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah." Prim nodded, as she rested her head on Katniss's shoulder. "She really loves you."

"Thanks," she said quietly.

"Any time." Prim smiled at her older sister. "I'll always be here for you, Katniss. I'll _always _be here to help you."

"I know you will, Prim."

And Katniss smiled again. She could not have asked for a better sister.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again! Just a quick note:**

**There is one new character in this chapter, completely made up, and this chapter is sorta like a flashback to show where all of this started. That's why it says she is in third grade, and she is about nine years old in this chapter. **

**Okay, on with the chapter!**

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_Chapter Two - Memories_

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Mrs. Everdeen would never forget Andrea Welsh. Andrea was her daughter's third grade teacher. And she would never forget the day that Andrea called her and asked her to come to the school for the parent-teacher conferences, she said it was very important. So, Mrs. Everdeen rescheduled her interview at the hospital and went to the school instead. She walked down the hallway, nodding at other parents as she went. Some of them had brought their children along with them. One of them, a smiley blonde girl named Delly, grinned at Mrs. Everdeen, and she couldn't help but smile back.

_If only Katniss would smile at me like that, _she thought to herself.

But she shook it off, as she approached Mrs. Welsh's room. As soon as she walked in, Mrs. Welsh looked at her, smiled slightly, and gestured for her to come in. They shook hands and made small talk, as Mrs. Everdeen sat down across the desk from her. She looked around the room at the art hanging on the wall, and she couldn't help but smile. There were paintings of stick figures and shapes and unrealistically drawn animals. All of them had a name written on it at the bottom of the paper. But she didn't see anything with Katniss's name on it.

"So," Mrs. Everdeen started. "Andrea. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Yes." She nodded slowly. "I think this talk is long overdue. Mrs. Everdeen-"

"Call me Violet."

"Right. Violet." She sighed. "I thought you might want to know how your daughter is... progressing?"

"Of course."

At that moment, Mrs. Everdeen sneakily reached into her bag and looked at her phone. She knew that somebody had called her, but she had not yet checked to see who it was. She worried that it could be important, it could be a call from the hospital. But it wasn't. It was only a call from one of her friends. She sighed in relief and looked back up at Andrea, who was now staring at her expectantly.

"Violet, did you hear me?" Andrea asked slowly.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't."

"Well." She started again, obviously trying to hide her frustration. "I was saying that your daughter seems to be having a little trouble."

"Trouble with what?"

"She's a very bright girl," she reassured her. "But sometimes, when she doesn't want to do something, she simply won't."

"Oh." Mrs. Everdeen let out a sharp, sarcastic laugh. "Well, you can blame her father for that. They're both stubborn, he probably taught her to be that way."

Her phone went off again. She reached for it, hoping it wasn't somebody from the hospital, calling to tell her that the interview had not been rescheduled. After all, there was no way she could make it from the school to the hospital in time, if that was the case. But no. It was just her husband, probably calling to ask if she had dinner prepared or if he had to bring something home.

"Violet," Andrea snapped. "This is important, and I would appreciate your full attention."

Mrs. Everdeen looked up, surprised, and replaced her phone in her bag.

"All right."

"All right." She sighed, leaning back slightly in her chair. "As I was saying, your daughter does not follow instructions. She loves to sing during music class, but she refuses to paint or draw or write or read. The list goes on, of course."

"I see," Mrs. Everdeen said tiredly. She couldn't believed that Andrea had called her in, telling her that they needed to discuss something _important. _This wasn't important. With some discipline, she knew that Katniss would be fine. "Well, I'll have a talk with her when I get home."

"That's not all," Andrea cut in. "Do you see her out there?"

Mrs. Everdeen looked where Andrea was pointing and watched Katniss, as she drew on the pavement with the colored chalk that her father had given to her for her birthday. The other children who came with their parents ran around, yelling after each other and laughing. But Katniss remained in the same spot, talking quietly to herself, as she drew.

"Yes, what about her?"

"The thing is, Katniss refuses to socialize. She will not do group projects, she sits by herself in lunch and class, and she will not play with the other children at recess."

"So, she's a loner," Mrs. Everdeen concluded. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"No." Andrea sighed, wishing she would take the hint. "I went outside to ask her, one day, why she wouldn't play with the other children. And she told me that she was playing with her sister, Prim."

"Oh, yeah. My husband and I think that Prim is just her imaginary friend."

"But I've had students who had imaginary friends," she tried again. "And I'm afraid this isn't exactly the same thing. Katniss told me that she's had this _sister _for five years. And, I suppose, that could be an imaginary friend. Usually, when children have imaginary friends, the friend does not grow or develop. But Katniss told me a lot about... Prim. She told me that she's taken care of her since she was just a baby. She told me that she even taught her how to walk and talk, and she's working on teaching her how to read."

"So, what are you implying?" Mrs. Everdeen asked quietly.

"I may be wrong," she said. "I believe that this is more than just an imaginary friend. That, maybe, there is something going on with your daughter that neither of us really know about. But I do think it's important that we find out what that is. If we catch this now, we can keep it from developing into something dangerous."

"My daughter is not dangerous."

"Violet, I understand that this is difficult to hear. But we could have the Child Study Team talk to her. Who knows, maybe it's just a false alarm."

"No!" Mrs. Everdeen shook her head, angry that this teacher thought she knew her own daughter better than she did. Angry that she would even suggest such a thing. "My daughter is not going to talk to the Child Study Team. She's fine, just the way she is."

"But if we wait-"

"You can't make her do anything without my consent," she cut in. "And I am saying 'no'."

"All right." Andrea sighed, knowing she would not be able to convince her otherwise. "Thank you for coming in."

"Thank you for having me," she muttered, as she headed for the door.

Katniss sat outside, waiting for her mother. Her hands were covered in chalk. Pink, blue, yellow, orange. She giggled, as she wiped her hand on Prim's arm. Prim made a face, but she smiled seconds later, as Katniss continued to draw. She used the brown chalk to draw a tree, and she picked up the green chalk to draw the leaves on top. When she finished, she stared down at it, wondering what else to draw.

"That looks nice."

She looked up and saw a blonde boy, smiling down at her. He sat down next to her, and she mumbled a 'thank you'. But he didn't leave, and that frustrated her. When

she looked at Prim, she saw that Prim also looked upset about this boy's presence.

"I'm Peeta," he said, holding out his hand for her.

"Katniss," she mumbled.

She stared down at her colorful hands, but she refused to shake his. After a few seconds, he brought his hand back to his side and sighed.

"What are you gonna draw, now?" he asked.

"I dunno."

"May I?"

He pointed at a piece of orange chalk, and Katniss shrugged. She never really liked that color, anyway. Smiling, he picked it up and started to draw. Prim groaned, knowing that he wasn't going to leave any time soon. But Katniss watched in awe, as he quickly colored the pavement, his hands moving so quickly and skillfully. A moment later, a pretty orange flower appeared in front of her, much more detailed than anything she could draw.

"How do you do that?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"My mom is teaching me to decorate the cakes at the bakery." He smiled proudly at her reaction. "My brothers help me draw because it's easier to design it on paper and then just copy it on the cake."

"Oh."

"Yeah." He laughed a little, as he looked up at her. "I can draw you, if you want."

Katniss shrugged and looked back at Prim, who was watching them, obviously bored. When she looked back, he was already drawing again. She thought it looked funny. He had to use orange for her skin and light brown for her hair. It really did look funny, but when he finished, she found that it was _still _better than anything she could have drawn. He looked up at her expectantly when he finished.

"What do you think?" he asked.

Before she could answer, she heard someone calling her name. She looked up and saw her mother staring at her, a strange look on her face.

"It's time to go," she said shortly. Katniss nodded and stood up. She held out her hand for Prim, but just as Prim reached for her, Mrs. Everdeen grabbed Katniss's hand. "Enough, Katniss!"

She pulled Katniss along with her. And no matter how much Katniss fought and argued, Mrs. Everdeen would not let her stop for Prim. So, she could only watch, as Prim ran after them, as fast as she could on her short toddler legs. Peeta stared after them, wondering what Katniss was crying about. He wished he could do something, but he couldn't think of anything to do. Plus, her mother looked so angry that it would probably just get Katniss in more trouble, if he tried to do something. So, he walked back into the school and waited for his mother in the hallway.

When they got home, Katniss ran to her room, Prim close behind, and they stayed there by themselves. She didn't open her door, and her parents didn't ask her to. She just laid on her bed, her arms around Prim, until she fell asleep.

The colorful portrait stayed on the pavement, until night time when it began to rain. The rain was cold and heavy, and it wasn't long before the pictures that Peeta had drawn were gone. Not long after, Peeta was sent outside by his mother, holding onto the bread that he had accidentally burned. When he went into the rain, it was so heavy that he could hardly see. He didn't see it coming.

And that night, Peeta was kidnapped.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! How are you, lovely reader?**

**So, just a quick reminder, Katniss is eleven in the first chapter. The second chapter was ****mostly a flashback, so she was nine. In this chapter, ****she is twelve years old. In the next chapter, she is going to be sixteen. Yes, it's a big skip, but it'll work.**

**Also, I want to give a quick shout-out to AliaRide and HannahRide! You guys are lovely, and thank you for supporting me by reading my stories. ;)**

**Also, thank you to everyone who has been following/favoriting/reviewing! It really means a lot to me. :)**

* * *

_Chapter Three - Burning Roses_

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Katniss stared out the window next to her bed, as she held onto Prim. The house was completely silent. It seemed as if it had been this way for such a long time. It had been a quiet house since the day he died. Nobody dared to break the silence, not even Prim. When Katniss woke up, screaming, Prim would comfort her, but that was all.

Mrs. Everdeen had moments where she could do nothing but cry. And in all the other moments, she could do nothing but lie on the couch. She would watch her daughter slowly walk through the house by herself, in search of something to eat. Katniss had been able to find scraps here and there, but it was never enough. They had been given some money after Mr. Everdeen's death, but that was not enough either, and Katniss was trying as hard as she could to save what they had.

Her stomach growled at her, and she looked down at her little sister, whose cheeks were more hollow than they used to be. Katniss slowly let go of her and slid herself forward until her feet touched the tough, worn carpet. She stood up and crept over to her closet, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she did not wake up her little sister. When she saw her little sister, sound asleep in bed, she picked up a pile of clothes in the corner to reveal a small cardboard box.

The top of the box was just as worn as the carpet beneath her, and the edges were misshapen from all the times that her fingertips had tugged on it to open it. Just as she did, now. She set the top aside and reached inside. A handful of cut up newspaper articles came out, and she laid them out in front of her.

_Factory Workers Killed In Freak Accident_

This was the latest article she had cut out. Her mother had cried and cried, but Katniss needed to keep this article. She put it in her box. It made her feel like her father was always there. Still there, in the corner, waiting to be acknowledged again.

_Runaway Mental Patient Found_

This article disturbed Katniss very much. The poor girl. Her name was Annie Cresta. She had screamed and yelled that she didn't belong there, and she needed to leave to take care of her grandmother, Mags. But they took her back, anyway. Even with such a horrible story, the thing that really caught Katniss's attention was the hospital. Annie had escaped from Panem's Home For The Mentally Ill. She remembered her parents reading something about this hospital. Maybe, her mother had planned to apply for a job at this hospital.

_Missing Boy Found After Three Year Search_

This article served mostly to confuse Katniss. It was so strange. She remembered this boy, his name was Peeta. He had disappeared on the same night that he had introduced himself to her. Katniss could never decide how she felt. For the most part, she was indifferent. After all, it didn't make sense to care so much about someone she barely knew. On the other hand, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness, at times, when she thought about it.

And now, as she stared at the article, she couldn't help but feel that strange, unwarranted sadness. The last school photo he had taken before he disappeared was posted beneath the headline. He was smiling so brightly that it seemed dazzling, even on paper. She wondered if he still smiled this way. But more importantly, she wondered where he was. What did they do with him after they found him?

"You're looking at them again?"

Her head whipped around, and she saw her sister sitting up in bed, staring down at her. Without thinking, she covered the articles with her hands and slid them closer to her lap.

"How did you know?" Katniss asked quietly.

"I've always known."

She looked down, but she could still sense her little sister standing up and walking toward her. Seconds later, Prim knelt down next to her and reached for the article. Reluctantly, Katniss let go of it so that Prim could look at it.

"What d'you think happened to him?"

Prim picked up the article and smoothed it out, as she thought. The room grew quiet, and Katniss began to think about her mixed feelings toward this unfortunate boy. She thought that, maybe, she should not feel bad. After all, she had a bad feeling about this boy right from the start.

"I think, it's best not to worry about him," Prim said, as she replaced the paper on the floor. "Thinking too much about this boy will ruin you."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm okay," Prim said quickly. "I'm okay, and you're okay. Why should you care about him? You don't need him. I'm all you need. Aren't I?"

"Of course." Katniss nodded.

"Then, don't worry about him. Stop reading this... Get rid of this article, Katniss."

She felt a strange feeling again. She did not want to get rid of this article, although she wasn't really sure why. But her little sister was always so smart. If she was telling her to do something, it was probably the right thing to do.

"Okay, I'll do it," she said hesitantly.

"For me," Prim reminded her.

"Yes, I'll do it for you."

She watched, as her little sister stood up and returned to their bed, before she replaced the papers in the cardboard box. But she left the last article out and picked it up, deciding that she would get rid of it, like her sister wanted her to. So, she stood up, the article still in her hand, and started walking toward the door.

"Katniss, wait."

"Yes, Prim?"

"I'm so hungry..."

At that moment, Katniss's stomach began to growl, and she nodded.

"I'll find something."

Prim nodded, and Katniss continued on her way downstairs. She folded up the paper and placed it in her pocket, as she tip-toed to the kitchen. She could feel her mother's eyes on her, but she did not acknowledge her. Her only goal was to find something to feed her sister. She opened up all the cabinets, all the drawers in the kitchen, but there was nothing. Everything that she did find was too rotten. She knew it would only make them sick.

She returned to the living room, where her mother was lying on the sofa. Her mother, although she hated to admit it, was the only one that could help her, now. She couldn't just let her sister go hungry, and so she decided that it was time to break the silence.

"Mother." She didn't respond. "We're almost out of money. Mother?"

"I know, Katniss," she whispered, her voice cracking from lack of use.

"Prim is hungry. I need to feed her, but I don't want to spend the rest of the money."

"Prim?"

"Yes, she's so hungry-"

"Please, don't do this right now, Katniss."

She looked at her mother, confused. It didn't make sense. Prim hadn't done anything to deserve such harsh treatment. Prim deserved a loving mother who cared about her and hugged her instead of ignoring her.

"You've never cared about her." Mrs. Everdeen sighed, wishing her daughter would stop. "You don't even care, now, when she's starving. She needs you. She's your daughter, you know?"

"Katniss, go to your room."

"No, not until you help her! Why can't you just-"

"Stop it," she scolded, sitting up for the first time in a long time. "I'm not going to play along with this anymore. You do _not _have a sister, and I only have _one _daughter. And that's you, Katniss."

Katniss stared at her, her mouth hanging open. She looked at the stairs, and saw that Prim was watching them, close to tears, and she became angry.

"How could you say that? How could you say that right in front of her? Do you have any idea how much you've hurt her? All she wants is for you to accept her-"

"She doesn't exist!" Mrs. Everdeen yelled, finally unable to control herself. "_Prim _doesn't exist, she's not real!" She shook her head and turned away. "I can't do this right now. Please, just go to your room."

She glared at the back of her mother's head, unable to find words to express the horrible anger she was feeling. Before she was even aware of what she was doing, she raised her hand and went to hit her unsuspecting mother. But Prim grabbed her arm to stop her.

"That'll get us in trouble," she said quietly. "Let's just go upstairs."

"No," Katniss muttered. "I'm gonna go outside. You go back to bed."

Prim stared at her, but she finally nodded reluctantly and walked back upstairs. Katniss glared at her mother for a moment before she stormed off toward the door. She grabbed her father's lighter, which still lay on the table next to the door, untouched. As soon as the door closed behind her, she plucked one of her mother's roses out of the garden. They were already half dead, since nobody had been taking care of them. But that didn't really matter, as Katniss ignited the lighter and brought it to the stem.

She burned one spot, dropped the flower, then stomped on it. Burned another spot, then stomped on it. Burn, stomp. Over and over until all that was left was a pile of black ashes. Katniss had always hated those roses. She told her mother over and over again that they should replace them with primroses. But her mother never listened.

"Are you listening, now?" she murmured, as if her mother could hear her.

She burned rose after rose, turning the pavement beneath her black and dusty, creating smoke that made her eyes tear up. Suddenly, she remembered something. The paper in her pocket. And as she thought about it, it began to feel like a weight, pulling her down. She pulled it out and unfolded it slowly, taking in the picture. The smile that she had come to memorize. But now, it seemed to mock her. It was as if he was looking right through her, like he knew everything that she did not want him to know. And without a second thought, she brought the lighter up to the paper and watched, as the flames devoured his picture, until she could no longer see even a bit of his face.

Small, blackened pieces of paper floated around her, as the paper crumbled. She rubbed her fingers together, the ashes smudging her fingertips. And as the small black scrap of paper drifted away from her, she began to feel a strange sense of attachment. As if burning the paper was a bad idea. But it couldn't be a bad idea, if her sister had suggested it. Still, she couldn't help but stare after it. She felt as if she could simply reach out and catch it. She felt as if she could bring him back, just by catching that one piece of paper. But she couldn't. She had burnt him, destroyed him.

And she felt as if she had ruined herself in the process.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry I took so long to update this. I've just been very busy and sick, as always, and stressed and whatnot. Please don't be mad at me. :3**

**So, like I said in the last chapter, Katniss will be 16 years old in this chapter, just so nobody has to wonder.**

**Thank you to PMLover for reviewing on the last chapter. That really made me feel better. :) ****Also, thank you to anyone who has been following or favoriting. **

**Here's chapter five! Read and Review, please!**

* * *

_Chapter Four - Involuntary Commitment_

* * *

"She deserved it," Prim whispered, as she rubbed Katniss's back comfortingly. "She was so mean, she shouldn't have been talking to you like that."

Katniss sniffled, as she wiped away the tears on her face. She took a deep breath, as she watched the window next to her bed. The sky was grey and cloudy, as if her sadness had caused some kind of storm. And for some reason, that one delusional thought comforted her so much.

"I didn't mean to," Katniss whispered back. "She was bothering me... I didn't _mean _to hit her, I just wanted her to leave me alone."

"Of course, you meant to!" Prim looked her in the eye and spoke urgently. "She was being mean, she deserved it, Katniss! When somebody's mean to you, you have to defend yourself!"

"I was, at first." Katniss sniffled. "But then, I just kept hitting her... I felt like I couldn't even control myself."

"And that's okay."

"Then, why did I get in trouble, Prim?"

"Because the teachers like her better." Katniss shook her head, but Prim tried again. "She's rich, Katniss. You know that her parents donate to the school all the time."

"They do..." she said slowly.

"Exactly. If their daughter got in trouble, they wouldn't do that anymore. The school wants to stay on their good side, so they went after you instead." She wrapped her arms around Katniss. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"You're right." Katniss nodded. "You're always right."

She held onto her little sister, as she tried to calm herself down. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw her mother's face. That horrible face she made when she found out what Katniss had done. She didn't become angry. She didn't reprimand her in anyway. She didn't even speak. Instead, she simply shook her head and walked away. As she walked away, Katniss couldn't help but feel disappointed. She had imagined her mother yelling at her, screaming about what a horrible child she was, and she was ready to yell back. To let out the anger she felt towards her mother. But her mother did not yell at her. And now, Katniss felt all of the words she had wanted to say, still hanging on her lips.

Her head shot up, as she heard someone walking. The footsteps grew louder, as they came closer. Of course, Katniss knew who it was. But she had no idea how she would handle it. So, she only sat in silence, tears still in her eyes, as her mother came into her room.

"Katniss," she said quietly. "Come on."

"Where?" she asked, as her mother started to walk away.

"I want to drive you somewhere."

"Can Prim come?" Katniss whispered.

Mrs. Everdeen froze and took a deep breath before turning to look at her daughter again.

"Yes. Prim can come."

And with that, she turned back around and went downstairs. Katniss looked down at herself. When she got home from school, she had torn off the clothes she was wearing. They were covered in that girl's blood, the one that she had attacked. She couldn't stand to wear those clothes anymore. And now, she only wore a light blue nightdress that she found on the floor. She stood up, deciding that it didn't matter if she was only going to be sitting in a car.

And so, she grabbed Prim's hand and followed her mother to the front door. Her mother watched her, as she opened up the car door for Prim and then sat down in the passenger seat. Mrs. Everdeen took a shaky breath, as she started the car.

"Where are we going?" Katniss asked.

"You'll see."

She began to drive, hoping the tears in her eyes wouldn't make it too difficult for her to see. Katniss turned around to check on Prim, and Mrs. Everdeen sighed. She knew that this would be a very long trip.

* * *

"Katniss?" Mrs. Everdeen whispered. "Katniss, wake up."

Katniss moaned and slowly opened her eyes, wondering when she had fallen asleep. She looked around and suddenly remembered why she was in the car. Her mother watched her, as if she was afraid to see how she might react, but Katniss didn't know this, as she looked around. All she saw was a very large building and a long driveway leading up to it. When she looked back, she saw that there was a tall black gate behind them, which she worried might keep them from leaving.

"Where are we?"

"Come, Katniss," she said, instead of answering her question.

Mrs. Everdeen slowly got out of the car, and Katniss followed her hesitantly. Prim hopped out of the car and ran to grab Katniss's hand again. The two stayed as close to each other as they possibly could, as they followed their mother to the front door. When they entered, they found themselves in a very small room with dark purple walls. It was barely enough room for all of them. On one side, there was a door. And on another side, there was a man dressed like a police officer behind a wall of glass. He spoke into a microphone, so that they could hear him.

"Who are you visiting?" he asked.

"Nobody, we're actually here to, um..." Mrs. Everdeen lowered her voice slightly. "We're here to check in."

_Check in? _Katniss thought. _Is this some kind of hotel?_

"Name, please," he said, looking down at some papers in front of him.

"Everdeen."

"I.D." She handed him a card wordlessly through the small hole in the glass, and he nodded. "All right. Come on in."

He pressed a button in front of him, and the door popped open. Katniss looked at her mother, confused. Mrs. Everdeen simply sighed and walked toward it slowly.

"Come on, Katniss."

Katniss followed her just as slowly, still holding onto Prim's hand. She truly hated it here. It was so dark and small. And the next room was no better. It was much bigger, of course. And a bit brighter, but it was still uncomfortable. There was a constant hum, that Katniss guessed came from the dull lights above her. From the other room, she could hear people laughing on a television, but whoever was watching it wasn't laughing along, if there was anyone there at all.

"You'll have to leave your things in here," the guard said, pointing to a wall of small green lockers.

"Oh, I'll only be a minute-"

"Ma'am," he cut in tiredly. "No locker, no entry."

"Fine." She sighed, as she handed him her purse. "Could we go in, now?"

"Please, be patient," he said, as he returned to his desk. "You need to wear this card at all times. It shows that you're only here as a visitor."

"Thank you," Mrs. Everdeen said quietly, as he handed her the card.

"Mom." Katniss nudged her mother lightly. "What's going on?"

"We're going to talk to someone." She looked at the guard. "Now?"

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded, as he walked ahead of them. "Right this way."

They followed him through a mint green hallway. When they reached the end, they saw a small room with beige walls, where a few people were sitting, watching the television that Katniss heard earlier. One of them was older, maybe middle-aged. He was gulping down a bottle of water, but each time he stopped to take a breath, he looked at it, obviously annoyed. The man in the armchair across from him seemed much younger and more attractive. As he stared at the television, his hands fiddled with a small length of string. He tied and untied knots over and over again.

Katniss watched them until they were out of her sight. Once she could no longer see them, she realized that they were walking through a white hallway with doors on either side. At the end of the hallway, there was one door that read "Coriolanus Snow". When Prim squeezed her hand, Katniss began to feel nervous, but she couldn't really tell why. So, she continued to follow her mother.

The guard stopped at the last door and held it open for them. Mrs. Everdeen thanked him quietly, as they walked in. There was a man sitting behind a desk, in the middle of the room. He had white hair, and he seemed very old. But the thing that disturbed Katniss was how much he resembled a snake, especially when he smiled at her. It never seemed to reach his eyes.

"Hello." He stood up to shake Mrs. Everdeen's hand and then sat back down. "Sit, please."

"Thank you." Mrs. Everdeen sat down, and Katniss sat down next to her, letting Prim sit on her lap. "Well, I suppose you know why we're here."

"Indeed, I do." He looked down at the papers on his desk.

"Well, good," Katniss muttered. "_Someone_ should."

"Katniss!"

"That's quite all right." He looked up at her. "Katniss. You can call me Snow." She said nothing, so he continued. "You have a sister, yes?"

"Yes..."

"Where is she?"

_Is he blind? _Katniss thought.

"She's right here," she muttered, trying not to get annoyed, as she gestured to the little girl on her lap.

"Of course." He smirked and returned his attention to her mother. "How long has she had this sister?"

"Twelve years..." Mrs. Everdeen sighed.

"Hm." He nodded. "Must be hard."

Katniss stared at them both, completely confused, but they didn't seem to notice her.

"What do I need to do?" her mother asked quietly.

"Some paperwork." Snow leaned back in his seat and sighed. "You'll need to give your consent."

"And then, what?"

"And then..." He looked at Katniss carefully, as if he knew that saying the wrong thing might set her off. "Her involuntary commitment begins."

"Involuntary commitment?" Katniss looked at her mother. "What does he mean?"

But Mrs. Everdeen did not answer. She did not even look at her daughter. Instead, she took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay."

"Mom!"

"Easy, Katniss," Snow said. "You have nothing to worry about, we'll take good care of you."

"What are you talking about?" She lightly pushed Prim off her lap and stood up. "Mom!"

"Katniss..." Finally, she looked at her daughter and stood up.

"Welcome to Panem's Home For The Mentally Ill." Snow smiled at her, almost tauntingly.

"But I'm not..." Katniss stopped and thought for a moment, and finally it hit her. Her eyes widened, and she looked at her mother and shook her head. "I'm not! Mom, I didn't mean to hit her!"

"There's no need to get so anxious, Katniss." Snow walked toward her, but she backed away.

"Get away from me!" She looked at her mother, who now had tears in her eyes. "I don't belong here! Mom, I didn't mean to hit her! I won't do it again!"

"Katniss-"

"This happens all the time." Snow sighed, as he returned to his desk. "We're just going to call for some help..."

"I don't need help!"

"Katniss, please, calm down," Mrs. Everdeen nearly whispered.

"Please, don't do this to me!"

The door opened, and two uniformed men entered the room. Katniss backed up, but she realized that they had backed her into a corner. She stared at them, terrified, wondering how she would escape this. And that's when she heard it.

"Katniss!" her little sister shrieked.

"Prim!" She looked at the doorway, but her sister was gone. Somebody had taken her. "Prim!"

She tried to run for the doorway, but the men grabbed her. They were unaffected by her screams and her struggling. They were used to it. Mrs. Everdeen watched, trying so hard not to cry, as the two men dragged her daughter, kicking and screaming, to the door. And as Katniss screamed at her- screamed how she hated her for doing this to her- Mrs. Everdeen finally let her tears out. She shuddered, as her daughter slowly disappeared until she could no longer hear her.

"Mrs. Everdeen." Snow held out a tissue box for her, and she wordlessly took one. "Don't worry. We'll take very good care of your daughter."


	5. Chapter 5

**Again, I'm sorry I took so long with this. There's just too much going on... Like, seriously, there should be a pre-summer break. That would be great.**

**Anyway, thank you guys who reviewed on the last chapter. I'm forgetful, so I don't think I responded to all of you, but I was very grateful that you guys seem to like this story. :)**

**On with the chapter! Read and Review!**

* * *

_Chapter Five - The System_

* * *

Katniss sat on the bench next to the window, glaring up at the smiley woman in front of her. It had taken close to an hour to calm her into silence. Only, now, she refused to even speak to any of them. It was decided that she would begin her therapy sessions tomorrow, but Effie Trinket- always one to follow her schedule no matter what- insisted that she would still speak to Katniss, even if the girl wouldn't respond.

"Twenty five floors!" Effie chirped. "Can you believe that? Have you ever been in such a building?" Katniss said nothing. "Well, you are now! If you don't believe me, just look right out the window!"

She huffed, as she continued to stare at Effie. It took all of her strength to sit so still and keep her mouth shut. She only wished she could yell at Effie to go away, so that she could find a way out of this place. She still couldn't believe that her mother had betrayed her. And to make matters worse, she sat there and did nothing, as Prim was kidnapped. No. Katniss promised herself that she would never call that woman her mother again.

"Katniss, dear? Are you listening?" She looked up but said nothing. "Today was a very good day for you to check in! We're getting haircuts done tomorrow! Do you want to get your hair cut, Katniss?" She stared at her blankly, and Effie's smile faltered. "Well, you can decide when they get here..."

And with that, she welcomed her to the hospital and, finally, left Katniss alone. She sighed and turned to face the window, as she pulled her knees up to her chest. She knew that she wouldn't let them cut her hair. Prim had complimented it so many times, she even wished to have the same hair.

"Katniss?"

Her head shot up at the sound of her name, and she instinctively hugged her knees tighter. Before her stood a tall, blonde-haired boy with blue eyes that she knew well. Katniss just stared at him in complete shock. She had always wondered what had happened to him. And now, she knew.

"Peeta..." she mumbled, as if she was speaking a foreign language. Something she had read so many times but never ventured to say out loud.

"Yeah..." He nodded and smiled his too-familiar smile. "Can I sit with you?"

She said nothing, so he sat down next to her, anyway. He was holding onto something, but Katniss couldn't tell what it was. And she certainly wasn't going to ask him that. There was a question in her head that was much more important.

"Why are you here?"

He looked at her, as if her question surprised him, and his smile disappeared.

"It's a long story..." He sighed and, again, took her silence as a cue to continue. "Well, about seven years ago, I was... kidnapped."

"I know," she said quietly.

"You do?" He looked surprised for a moment, but then he composed himself. "Sorry... Anyway, I can't really remember much about it... I just remember that it was awful. They beat me and kept me in the dark for hours, even days at a time..." He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to control himself. "And when they found me, they brought me to a hospital, and they said that whoever had kidnapped me had given me some kind of brain damage... Sometimes, I lose control of myself because of it. That's why they brought me here."

Peeta looked down, avoiding her eyes. Katniss stared at him, almost feeling bad for him. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to be beaten and trapped in dark rooms for three years. And more importantly, she couldn't imagine being away from Prim for so long.

"Sorry," she finally said.

He smiled sadly, even at this half-hearted apology.

"It's all right... You learn to like it here." He sat up straight and looked at Katniss carefully. "The people are all right, too." At this, he showed her what he had been holding. "When I was in the fourth floor, a girl named Annie made this doll for me. But you can have it, if you want."

"No."

"What?"

"I don't want that."

"Oh..." Peeta looked down at the rag doll in his hands. "Sorry, I just thought you might like it."

"I don't."

"Okay." He smiled weakly, trying not to show how embarrassed he felt. "So, did they tell you about the system yet?"

"No," Katniss muttered.

"Well, it's pretty simple." He moved closer to her, but she leaned away from him, as he looked out the window. "We all start on the top floor, and then, if we get better, they move us down. And the people that get all the way to the ground floor are the lucky ones."

"Why?" she asked, interested in what he was saying, even though she wished that she wasn't.

"If you get to the ground floor, that means that you have one more evaluation. And if you pass, they send you to a better home. More freedom, more room..." He smiled slightly. "We call them Victors, because they're so lucky."

"You said you were on the fourth floor," Katniss said, staring at her knees. "Doesn't that mean you're better?"

"No..." Peeta sighed and shook his head, as if he was ashamed of himself. "I actually got all the way to the second floor... But then, this one day, I started to lose control of myself again, and this guy named Brutus started egging me on. And... long story short, I ended up attacking him. They didn't care that he had provoked me. They gave me a quick evaluation, and then they just sent me all the way back up here to start again."

"What happened to Brutus?"

"He made it to the ground floor..." Katniss felt another twinge of sympathy, as a look of sorrow appeared on Peeta's face.

"Is that the only way out?"

"What, the ground floor? I think so... I'd have to ask Annie. But they sent her back to the fourth floor, so I don't know when I'll be able to see her again."

"Well, we need to talk to her," Katniss insisted, suddenly excited by the possibility of escaping. "I need to get out of here."

"Katniss, I know it's hard at first, but you don't have to leave. Really, you can learn to love it here-"

"No, I need to get out of here," she said angrily. "They have my sister, Peeta. They kidnapped her." His eyes widened. "I need to find her."

"You're right," he said slowly. "You need to find her before she gets hurt... And I'll help you. I'll get you out of here."

"You will?" she asked warily.

"Of course, I will!" He stood up and looked around, as if he intended to get her out of the hospital at that very moment.

"Peeta." A little girl with dark skin and black hair sauntered over to them, smiling slightly. "Calm down. Don't you remember what happened last time you got this excited?"

"Right... Thanks, Rue." Peeta sighed, as he sat back down.

"I'm Rue," she said to Katniss, as she picked up the doll that Peeta had left on the window sill. "What's your name?"

"Katniss." She stared back at the girl, almost smiling, as she realized how much Rue resembled Prim.

"Katniss." Rue smoothed down the black yarn on the doll's head. "I think we'll be good friends."


End file.
